Cars inundated with water as 'king tides' hit Southern Marin

The din of malfunctioning car horns triggered by rising waters could be heard across the Manzanita Park and Ride lot in Southern Marin on Wednesday morning as "king tides" swept over the low-lying area.

And more of the high tides — 7 feet and above, about a foot higher than normal — are on the way Thursday and Friday.

On Wednesday, dozens of cars were parked in bay water at floorboard level and above just before 10 a.m. as the extraordinarily high tide rolled in.

The tides had long been predicted and Caltrans — which operates the 303-stall lot — has permanent signs up warning of flooding, said agency spokesman Steve Williams. But it was unclear whether Caltrans had any additional warnings or if it put up enough barricades up to prevent people from parking in the stalls that flooded.

Wednesday evening tow trucks and taxis came to the lot to take cars and people away.

Dave Krale of Mill Valley returned to his car to find it had been flooded, its electrical system fried. It would not start.

"I don't think Caltrans did enough," said Krale, as he waited for a tow truck to take his Lexus LS430 away. "There were some barriers up, but not in front of the area where I parked. It was not only me here, many other cars too. There was no 'no parking sign' here."

Observers said Wednesday's waters were higher and more far-reaching than previous events."This has happened before and you might have an alarm or two going off, but it seems like they are all on," said Kelly Montana, who works at the Buckeye Roadhouse, about 100 feet from the lot, as car horns droned on in unison. "We could hear the horns from across the road. I feel so bad for these people."

Golden Gate Transit supervisor Bob Amorosa surveyed the site just after 10 a.m. to see when buses might be able to use it again. On Wednesday, bus trips to the lot had to be canceled because of the standing water.

"This is as bad as I've seen it," he said.

The high tide also forced closure of the northbound Highway 101 offramp into the Tamalpais Valley. The ramp leads to a roadway underneath the freeway and it was turned into a 3- to 4-foot-deep concrete-lined lake until water receded.

Parts of the nearby Mill Valley-Sausalito bike and pedestrian path were underwater for a good part of the morning, forcing walkers and bicyclists to turn back. Miller Avenue in front of Tamalpais High School was also blocked by water as police put up a barricade to keep drivers out of the area.

More so-called "king tides" are on the way. One will hit at 10:34 a.m. Thursday — the highest of the week — and again at 11:24 a.m. Friday.

The tides are created when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned, increasing the gravitational pull on water, and they occur twice a year.

"We didn't have any major incidents Wednesday, but we will be on alert through Friday," said Jeri Stewart, a Marin public works spokeswoman.